My colleague, Daniel Lee, followed oral argument yesterday in the U.S. Supreme Court’s consideration of federal greenhouse gas (GHG) regulation in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, and provides this analysis: During oral argument for Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA this Monday, the Supreme Court conflicted over a number of issues including the application of Chevron deference, … Continue Reading
Nebraska filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in federal court on Wednesday, challenging the agency’s newly proposed standards for greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants. Nebraska argues that EPA’s proposed regulation, officially released last week, violates the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The Act prohibits EPA from considering new technology or a level … Continue Reading
As we discussed in this alert, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) released its final Eagle Conservation Plan Guidance (ECP Guidance) on April 26, 2013. Intended to promote compliance with the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) for wind development projects that have the potential to affect bald and golden eagles, the ECP … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision in EME Homer City Generation, L.P. v. EPA that rejects the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s approach to regulating upwind pollution from coal- and natural gas-fired power plants, among other sources. The so-called Transport Rule, also known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, had sought to … Continue Reading
As my colleagues Kristen Castaños and Melissa Foster posted on the Stoel Rives California Environmental Law Blog, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced today that it will publish the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (“Solar PEIS”) for solar energy development in six southwestern states—Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The Solar PEIS is a … Continue Reading
U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently announced conditional commitments to provide loan guarantees in connection with two geothermal projects located in Oregon and Nevada. Specifically, on June 10, 2010, Secretary Chu announced that the Department of Energy offered a $102 million conditional commitment for a loan guarantee to U.S. Geothermal, Inc. to construct a 22 megawatt geothermal … Continue Reading
From our colleague Eric Martin: After over two years of work, the federal Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee (“Committee”) recently released its final policy recommendations on how wind energy developers and operators can best assess and prevent adverse impacts to wildlife. Comprised of government, environmental, and wind industry stakeholders, the Committee recommends a five-tier approach … Continue Reading
An update on intellectual property issues from my colleague, John Rafter: On December 7, 2009 the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") announced the launch of a pilot program to accelerate the examination of certain green technology patent applications. Under the Green Technology Pilot Program, patent applications pertaining to environmental quality, energy conservation, development of … Continue Reading
